give enough information about the document so the responsible officer of the agency or the Minister can identify the document

state an address to which notices under the Act may be sent to the applicant.

Once your valid application is received under the RTI Act the date and details of the documents you are applying for will be published online in our disclosure log.

If you’re seeking documents that include your own personal information, you need to provide a certified copy of an identity document, e.g. a passport, driver’s licence or birth certificate.

Send your application to:

Manager, Right to Information and PrivacyLegal ServicesDepartment of Housing and Public WorksGPO Box 2457Brisbane Qld 4001

If you’re an agent you need to provide the applicant’s agent’s authorisation and evidence of your (the agent’s) identity.

What is a certified copy?

A document is considered certified when it is a photocopy of an original document and witnessed by a lawyer or notary public, a commissioner for declarations or a justice of the peace as being a correct copy of the original document.

How much will it cost?

The application fee is $48.00 GST is not applicable.

There are no further charges if your application is processed in less than 5 hours. If application processing time is likely to exceed 5 hours, you will receive a written estimate of the charge.

Charges may be waived if an individual or non-profit organisation is concerned the identified charges would cause a financial hardship.

When will the application be processed?

The department has 25 business days in which to make a decision.

This can be extended if consultation with a third party is required but you will be notified in writing of any changes to the due date.

Applications involving third parties

If the release of the documents may reasonably be expected to be of concern to a third party, the views of the third party are taken into account.

The documents will not be provided to the applicant until the rights of review of the third party have expired or the review application is decided.

What happens when access is granted?

You will be notified in writing of the decision.

Once payment of all relevant charges has been received you will be provided with copies of the documents.

If the document contains no personal information about you the document will be published online in our disclosure log along with your name and, if another person, company or body will use or benefit from the documents sought, the name of that person, entity or body. Some information may be removed from the document before it is published – for example, information that may be defamatory.

Should access be granted to other materials (such as tape and video recordings) and copies are not able to be sent to you, the decision maker will discuss with you how, when and where you can view the material.

If you are refused access to a document, the department must provide written reasons for the decision and explain your rights of review.

Applications for review of a decision must be made within 20 business days after the date of the written notice of decision.

Internal review

You can apply to the department for an internal review of a decision.

The reviewing officer will make a new decision as if the original decision had not been made.

External review

You can apply to the Office of the Information Commissioner for an external review of the department’s decision.